Benchmark DAC3 HGC with Remote Control, Reference Stereo Preamplifier, PCM and DSD D/A Converter, Asynchronous USB, ESS 9028PRO (Silver)

Nothing like the amazing sound that this DAC brings out... Qobus, Spotify and Tidal sound like the musicians are in the room with you. Amazing at a fantastic price. I'm using it with a Windows 10 Dell pc and an ASUS Xonar U7 24 bit / 192 KHz external sound card. (You need a high end pc sound card if you want great sound from a PC or Mac.) My headphones are HiFiMan HE-500... You will not believe how great this sounds. I plan to connect this DAC to my Emotiva home stereo and B&W 683 S2 tower speakers. Worth every penny!

This uint sounded great on every digital source I try it on CD's, PC music services like Amazon music. I had a question about the remote control the customer service team addressed it quickly and respectfully. Top notch product......Highly recommended! This is replacing my old Theta Digital DS pro basic II

I have been looking to upgrade my digital system and specifically my DAC so it was at least on the same level of my analog playback system since I believe you need to have both formats. I will admit I’m an analog guy and will always buy vinyl “IF” it was mastered properly. But that is not always the case and on occasion the digital version is better. So I have been looking for a DAC that resolves detail better, throws a nice soundstage and most importantly is musical. It must be able to reproduce music with fidelity and harmonic richness. I want it to have that analog magic that makes music, music. So I had read some good reviews on this unit and it is at a price range I thought would clearly outperform my $500 Micromega MyDAC. Which by the way is very musical I just know there is more detail to be had. So I took the chance of buying this unit ( knowing I had 30 days to return it). Since I’m not about to buy a DAC without trying it in my system. So I gave it a thorough evaluation and every opportunity to succeed. Well out the box I was seriously disappointed. So before I would give it more thought I would let it warm up and burn in overnight and give it a serious listen the next day. Well . . . It didn’t get any better. I did find out though that it sounded better with the stock USB cable then my high end audio cable. Just wasn’t a good match. It overemphasized the leanness in the bass and upper bass lower midrange. Well even with the stock cord it was not much better in that area. I tried some other USB cables with no better results. Apparently it is a characteristic of this DAC. Not only that it simply is not musical. Does a very poor job of reproducing the harmonic richness in the tones of instruments essential for me. I knew rather quickly this was not the DAC for me. I am always hesitant when a manufacture claims their product is completely neutral. Nothing is neutral everything has some sonic signature. I don’t like giving any audio product a bad review since it can often be just a bad match in the system you have it in. Can work wonders in one system and not in another. There is synergy that happens with every component in a system. Well this piece certainly was not going to cut it in my system and my strong feeling it will do the same in other systems. So with that said I strongly suggest you give it a serious addition before final purchase. My $500 MyDAC sounds significantly better, is much more musical, and even as detailed. So my search continues.

This sets the benchmark.There is a great debate in audiophile circles over subjective vs. measured sound.Benchmark's philosophy is to optimize for both.I have this paired with the Benchmark AHB2 amplifier. It's another amazing piece of kit. I am extremely impressed with the sound, which is super resolved, open, and 'analogue', fast and fluid, across all different types of music.I should also mention that Benchmark's customer service is exceptional. Their people are extremely knowledgeable, and always available by email and phone.This is a fantastic DAC, and Benchmark is a fantastic company.I can't recommend them highly enough.

I have the Benchmark amplifier AHB2 and the Benchmark DAC3 HGC, I am very satisfied with this combo after spending years trying out many equipment, I finally found something that I really like.

excellent DAC with lots of inputs and very flexible

I built a stack of 1/2 width (8" - 9") components for headphone listening - a transport (Bluesound Node2), a DAC (Parasound ZDac), and a headphone amplifier (Schiit Jotenheim) using balanced XLR cables to the amp. I upgraded the transport to an AURALiC Aries and got a huge improvement in detail and less noise. Then I upgraded to the Benchmark DAC - WOW, a huge improvement in soundstage, detail, and no audible noise. I have tried to hear the difference between the Benchmark built-in headphone amp and my Jotenheim amp, but can't hear any difference except on my high impedance Sennheiser HD650 which I've changed to balanced / XLR cable (the only reason I will be keeping my Jotunheim). I love my Benchmark DAC - it is so good that I bought another for the bedroom and I'm happy with a single DAC / Amp component connected to the Coax digital output of my portable Digital Audio Player - highly recommended.